A public interest litigation (PIl) lodged in the Odisha High Court has alleged that Union Minister and Congress candidate for Baleswar lok Sabha seat Srikant Jena has submitted a false affidavit along with his nomination papers before the Baleswar Returning Officer.
Briefing mediapersons here, lawyer Baikunthanath Pradhan, who filed the PIl, said Jena has mentioned that he has no cases pending against his name while four cases are pending against him in various police stations.Pradhan informed that three cases were registered against him on April 18, 2009 and the fourth was registered on April 20, 2009.
The cases filed by the then Jaleswar Tehsildar pertains to the violation of model code of conduct during the 2009 elections, he said.Pradhan has argued that the Returning Officer has the power to nullify Jena’s nomination on the basis of the ‘false affidavit’ submitted by him.